


Support Comes in Threes

by Metal_Gear_XANA



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Academy days, Christmas Themed, Mistletoe, Other, Pre-Timeskip, Wholesome, but with a twist
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-23
Updated: 2019-12-23
Packaged: 2021-02-26 02:06:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,224
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21915718
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Metal_Gear_XANA/pseuds/Metal_Gear_XANA
Summary: 'Fire Emblem: Three Houses', one-shot, Pre-Timeskip!Edeltrathrea (Edelgard/Dorothea/Petra).Dorothea is worried about how people will use the tradition of a mistletoe to force Petra, a foreigner open to learning and abiding to Fódlan ways, into partaking in kissing and make it look as if she wasn't coerced into it. Edelgard shares this concern, and so the two look for Petra. When they find her being harassed by a noble the two spring into action, and even when the noble sneer at the 'whore' that is Dorothea, Edelgard and Petra will have absolutely none of that.The three are here for each other and will not allow disrespect to fall to any of them.
Relationships: Dorothea Arnault/Edelgard von Hresvelg/Petra Macneary, F/F/F - Relationship
Comments: 2
Kudos: 35





	Support Comes in Threes

Support Comes in Threes

**A/N: -on a canoe- May I offer you a Christmas miracle with this OT3 for your consideration? Edeltrathea (Edelgard/Dorothea/Petra) make for a wonderful and brilliant OT3 and thus I am here to open your eyes to them.**

* * *

Dorothea is not fond of Christmas.

That may sound surprising, considering she receives plentiful gifts consisting of high quality dresses and perfumes by haughty noblemen... trying to bed her. She wonders why she should celebrate this occasion when the Goddess never assisted her when she was wandering the streets as an orphan, beaten by angered bakers and spat at by spoiled children. There is also a ridiculous tradition that coerces people into kissing: the mistletoe. It is just some plant, no different from others, yet people make such a deal when someone refuses, with every right, to not kiss. Countless times she had been harassed by nobles that had clearly set up a mistletoe to kiss her when she denied them. At this stage she is used to it, yet the idea of others not as strong as her refusing to leave brings a terrible feeling in her stomach-

Wait... Petra is still unsure of Fódlan traditions, and is willing to learn from anyone. That means that someone may force her to kiss them by saying that everyone obeys this tradition under the mistletoe...! By the Goddess, knowing the type of people that roam around the Monastery, there will be someone that will try to-

Revolted by this she nearly bolts out her dorm, only to accidentally bump into someone. Shaking and regaining her composure she is ready to laconically apologise and walk pass the person, only to then notice that the one she bumped into is Edelgard. Forest green eyes lit up hopefully: if anyone shares her sentiment and is willing to intervene it is Edelgard. After helping her best friend recover she gently took the princess’ hands. A puzzled looked crossed Edelgard’s face, which then morphed into solicitous wonder at noticing how distressed Dorothea looked.

“Edie, I need your help,” Dorothea began seriously, eyebrows knitted to showcase that this is no joke or petty matter. 

White eyebrows furrow in contained worry. “I am always happy to help you, Dorothea,” Edelgard concurred with a nod. Lilac eyes softened as she gently thumbed the brunette’s hands. “Please tell me what is wrong.”

Dorothea smiles auspiciously; she can always count on Edie. Quickly she returned serious. “Well, you know about the ridiculous tradition of the mistletoe?” 

Edelgard rolled her eyes and snorted. “A desperate attempt for people to kiss… I think all are well aware of it.”

“Not all, I’m afraid,” Dorothea said with a sullen glint in her eyes. “Petra is from Brigid, and you and I, and everyone, knows that Brigidians don’t celebrate this holiday. Everyone also knows that Petra is open to learn and abide by Fódlan traditions…”

She trailed off and stared intently into Edelgard’s eyes in hopes that the heir can understand what she is implying. Whilst the princess is… not the best in understanding social interactions and cues, the way her eyebrows raise, and her eyes going uncharacteristically wide with a silly gawking mouth to go with it, Dorothea sees that Edelgard picked up what the issue is. As quickly as Edelgard had expressed flabbergast she turned austere with a deep crevice that serves as a frown, her face contorted to match the rancorous lilac eyes that burned with abhorrence. Her grip grew vicelike, yet Dorothea did not voice any complaints as she too shared the princess’ sentiment.

“We must find Petra _at once_ ,” Edelgard commanded, her tone showing no room for debate or for other issues to take precedence. “As House leader, and friend, I _will_ _not_ allow anyone to abuse Petra’s foreign background.”

With that declared Edelgard informed the brunette that she had seen Petra not too long ago heading towards the gazebo. That is the perfect area to place a mistletoe. Making haste the two dashed towards the gazebo, shoving aside anyone that stepped in their way regardless of House (Caspar’s food was knocked aside and Felix cursed at the two for shouldering him). Exiting the dining hall Dorothea instantly grabbed Edelgard’s hand and dragged her towards the gazebo. Rounding the hedge that lead to the tea dining area and gazebo the two came to a halt at the sight before them. Forest green eyes narrowed accusingly towards a boy explaining, chest puffed and nose twitched snootily like a typical noble, to Petra about the tradition of the mistletoe. Even from this distance the brunette and white haired girl could hear how Petra was buying into his words. Without delay the two Eagles stormed up to the boy. When they climbed onto the gazebo Dorothea shoved the noble.

Flabbergast replaced his smug expression, and oh how Dorothea relishes in such reactions. Glancing behind she noticed Edelgard raise a hand to halt Petra from stepping forward or uttering any apologise, followed with the heir uttering towards the puzzled tanned girl that all is well. A snarl crossed the noble, a pitiful and expected reaction, which warranted the brunette in crossing her arms and cocking an eyebrow as if to challenge him to attack.

“What’s your problem!?” The boy growled cantankerously. He stomped his foot down like a petulant child. “I was just following mistletoe tradition!”

“Oh? And did you fail to mention that Petra doesn’t have to kiss you if she doesn’t want to?” Dorothea hissed, not beating around the bush.

That remark seem to almost genuinely puzzle the noble- _almost_ : “No, because under a mistletoe you must-”

“You were taking advantage of Petra’s foreign background to make her kiss you so that it wouldn’t look like you were coercing her into it,” Edelgard abruptly cut in with levelled anger. She stepped in to stand beside Dorothea with her expression so cold that it even brought a chill to the former songstress’ spine.

“Why would you do such a thing? Is it not expected of a noble to being… er, be setting an example?” chimed in Petra. Edelgard shot her an apologetic look on behalf of the noble; _it shouldn’t be on Edie_ , Dorothea thinks.

All three stood their ground against the boy. Surprisingly the noble did not back down. Instead he straightened up and chuckled darkly, as if the three girls were missing some crucial information he kept to himself. He scoffed and then sneered towards Dorothea.

“Who’s the whore that sleeps with many nobles to tell me who I shouldn’t kiss?”

At that moment Dorothea malfunctioned.

Her spunk shattered in a snap. Her posture slouched to make her appear defeated and meek, even when she stood taller than the noble. Forest eyes widened to their highest and her mouth hung agape as if it was forcefully pulled down. An unbearable din rang in her ears from incomprehensible shame. Her fists clenched so tightly that her trimmed nails dug into the skin, rewarding it with bruises that not even make-up could hide. Against her chest her heart is beating at an uncontrollable rate that one could mistaken it for readying itself to burst from her chest. Lips dried and her voice vanquished. Her brain processed nothing but what was said; nothing else exists. Even after all these years being called a ‘whore’ she still freezes up when someone lashes at her with that word. It is just a word, yet it is more damaging than any magic wounds or punctures from her tasks. Even when she knows she has accomplished so much to become a diva and then enrol in Garreg Mach the word… it erases those achievements. Unfortunately as much as she wants to deny it, to stand up to the noble and show him that she is unfazed, he is right. She is Dorothea Arnault, the girl that beds everyone to achieve her goals… Just a dainty girl with a lovely voice.

Take that and she is nothing…

“ _How dare you…_ ”

Breaking out her pessimistic trance Dorothea is startled to see that Edelgard and Petra had stepped in front of her. From the corner of her eyes she noticed an ominous expression cross the pallor girl’s face: narrowed lilac eyes that burned with intense revulsion, eyebrows knitted hard that is must hurt her forehead, and snarl as feral as they come. Looking to her side Dorothea sees Petra, prior being dumfounded, matching Edelgard’s expression as she glared trenchantly towards the noble. Turning to the noble the brunette is awed to see him cower and shrink before the two girls.

“Dorothea is one of the hardest working people I have ever met,” Edelgard continued with a strange mix of sincerity and menacing tone. “She had to work harder than anyone to apply and successfully enrol into the Officer’s Academy, whereas you simply had to pay to enter.”

“Dorothea is the most kindest person in that she is always willing to listen to others such as myself,” Petra added with a softer tone, yet there is no mistaking the anger in it. “She is deserving of all respect.”

Dorothea is beyond touched.

No words in any language can describe how she is feeling.

Edelgard and Petra’s words sound so factual and honest that it would have made her shed a tear if not for the current situation. A touched smile spreads across her face up to her ears, and her forest green eyes crinkle to match the jubilance that consumed her person. Any negative thoughts dwindled away as this lovely warmth replaced it. The noble tripped and fell on his buttocks. From this angle Dorothea could see how utterly frightened he appeared.

“I suggest you show more manners towards people like Dorothea or Petra, otherwise you may disappear under mysterious circumstance…” Edelgard warned darkly, an ominous vibe that rivalled that of Hubert coming from her.

Alarmed the noble scampered to his feet and ran away screaming, stumbling into a few tables that earned scolds from the other students, and disappeared from sight. Dorothea had called out her goodbyes, obnoxiously loud, and finished it by shouting that he never harasses anyone again. Edelgard and Petra turned to the brunette, and all three regarded each other with concern to make sure the other is feeling safe and well. Lilac, brown, and forest green gleamed softly at each other. Such looks made Dorothea-and some gut feeling told her that the same applied to the two princesses-heart flutter in a way that she has never felt.

“You two didn’t have to stand up to me,” Dorothea began in a tone that made her curse how much of a liar she sounded and how she knew, deep down, that she appreciated it. “But thank you.”

Edelgard and Petra smiled, and oh have their smiles always seemed to rival the sun’s warmth? Goddess Dorothea cannot ever recall blushing at such loving smiles, and she thinks how much she will cherish this for days and even years to follow.

“I must be thanking the two of you for informing me correctly of the tradition,” Petra stated as she looked over at Edelgard and Dorothea with gratitude. She bowed lightly to further express her commendation. “I can always be counting on the two of you to come to my aid and be expressing genuine care.”

“Of course I care about you and Dorothea,” Edelgard spoke, sounding almost saddened that the two had assumed otherwise (even though, Dorothea thinks amusedly, that Edie misread the situation). “You two are wonderful people that only deserve good things in life.”

“Oh my, quite the charmer you are, Edie~!” Dorothea swoons and winks towards the pallor girl. The way Edelgard flushes and stammers will never grow old for the brunette.

“You also deserve only the good aspects of life too, Edelgard,” Petra added with a warm smile directed towards the future emperor.

For a split second Edelgard appears sullen about something, only for it to vanquish and be replaced with the heir appearing startled by the notion that people care for her. Whatever had made the pallor girl sombre is something that Dorothea will not pry into, and she can tell, knowing of Petra’s hunter background, that she too had picked up on how uneasy their closest friend had been. Not being to contain herself Dorothea brought her arms around the two smaller girls and drew them into a group hug. Edelgard stiffened into the embrace, whereas Petra simply giggled puerilely and wrapped her arms around the two Fódlanders. Eventually, and gradually, Edelgard relaxed into the embrace and awkwardly hugged and patted the two taller girls’ backs. When they retracted Petra beamed at some idea. Brown eyes gleamed in tune to her flash of pearly whites, and Dorothea feels that she and Edelgard are enamoured by how rapturous the Brigidian looks.

“I would be most happy if I am given the chance to kiss the two of you under this plant!”

Dorothea does not disguise her surprise as she widens her eyes and lightly gawks at Petra. Edelgard is the opposite of subtle as she lets out a startled gasp, and from her peripheral vision the brunette notices a red blush encompass her face down to her neck. Not that Dorothea is finding amusement in it, for she too is flushing as hard as the future emperor. The two simultaneously look to each other, realising that not only Petra is serious about the offer but that it also meant that they would be kissing each other. Somehow the two blushed harder and instantly turned towards the pleased Petra with her hands on hips and straightened posture.

“You don’t have to kiss the two of us if you don’t want to Petra,” Dorothea assured. In all honesty though she would, strangely enough, be more than happy to kiss Petra and Edelgard.

“Indeed, for no one is coercing you, or either of us, into kissing,” Edelgard added, her composure starting to crack.

“I would be very happiest-pardon-most happy if I am allowed to kiss you two,” Petra insisted, and then added, “Only if you would like to.”

Dorothea wants to. She cannot recall a time that she was this excited, let alone content and not crumbling out of disgust at forcing herself, in kissing anyone, let alone two people. For the past couple of months she has grown extremely close to Edelgard and Petra; the three have developed a bond of the likes she would never wish to rid or see diminish. They have become indispensable to each other; three pieces that cannot form a whole without the other. Dorothea cannot say if she has developed romantic feelings for the two, yet she could not deny that her feelings are merely friendship. Perhaps, if the two agree, she would like to venture in this direction, to test the waters and see how it will unfold for the three. Even if does not go far they can, and will, always remain and close friends.

Then it is settled.

“I very much would like to kiss you and Edie under this silly plant,” Dorothea decreed with the softest smile she has ever mustered towards Edelgard and Petra. “Only if Edie wishes to comply.”

She and Petra do not stare at Edelgard, for they do not want to push her and make her feel that she must comply. The future emperor, described as impassive and impossible to faze, seems lost as she carefully regards the two with what appears confliction in her lilac eyes. There is a pensive frown, the kind that indicated that something is holding her back. Dorothea nearly opens her mouth to assure Edelgard that it is fine, only for the princess to utter that she will go with it.

“Are you sure?” Petra inquired with shock etched in every word, and Dorothea is awed at how she and Petra are not squealing in flabbergast at Edelgard’s answer.

“I cannot say I am sure, yet I know I would… like to try,” Edelgard said honestly as her eyes darted to the two. “Kissing the two of you will be…”, she clucked her tongue to find the words. “…it should be well and good.”

If this is a dream than Dorothea doesn’t want to wake up. The three glance towards one another to figure out who should be the first to receive kisses. Petra vouched herself, as she was the first one to stand under the mistletoe. Dorothea and Edelgard agreed to the terms, and the brunette uttered that she will kiss first due to her experiences. When the Brigidian uttered she has never received a romantic kiss before, Dorothea felt a strange pressure come over her. When Petra beamed and expressed ardent excitement at being first kissed by Dorothea of all people Dorothea felt a swell of giggly glee ignite in her. Gently cupping Petra’s cheeks she then leaned in and kissed the tanned girl. Petra returned the kiss, and oh how sincere and warm it feels against the former songstress lips: it represents the kisser as a person flawlessly. There is a smile etched across Petra’s face and Dorothea could not help but grin into the kiss. When she pulled away Edelgard tentatively approached Petra and copied the brunette’s approach to kissing. Judging from how Petra lit up, and how Edie’s blushing ears radiated heat near Dorothea, the two melted into their kiss. Once done Edelgard cleared her throat to hide her discomfort and by the Goddess it took all of Dorothea’s restraining power to not grab those cheeks and squish them-!

The tallest girl stated that she is happy for it to be her turn now. Petra ushered Edelgard to be the first. The future emperor inhaled sharply and tugged her collar to hide the flush refusing to fade away as she turned to Dorothea. When Edelgard stood on her tiptoes Dorothea giggled as the princess chastely pressed her lips unto hers. The kiss is cautious, filled with uncertainty in regards to the user feeling unsure how to commence a kiss properly, yet there is no mistaking the genuineness in it and as cliché as it sounds Dorothea feels her heart sing. She gladly returns the kiss, and not a shred of her feels like she favoured Petra over Edelgard or vice versa. Both are phenomenal people that she deeply cherishes.

When it is Edelgard’s turn Dorothea cannot help but giggle at how Edelgard shut her eyes tightly and lifted her lips up in preparation for a kiss. This isn’t some thing to brave through, Dorothea believes, but this is Edie, and it makes sense for her to act this way. Dorothea allows Petra to go first, and the foreign princess ardently presses her lips against Edelgard’s. From here she can see how Edelgard is slowly allowing her solemn façade to slip as a tiny smile adorns her face as she returns Petra’s kiss. When Dorothea initiates the kiss she finds herself extremely impressed and proud of Edelgard for closing down her barriers.

With all three finishing they have a mixture of reactions: blushing cheeks, rubbing the back of the necks, nervous laughter and infectious quirky grins. All three feel at home with one another. They are incomplete without the other. It is everything and oh how this feels like it will last for eternity. 


End file.
